


Broken

by SpencerRemyLvr



Category: Criminal Minds, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Empathy, Friendship, Kidnapping, M/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-02-21 16:49:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2475413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpencerRemyLvr/pseuds/SpencerRemyLvr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One night Remy went into town to visit with his friend, Spencer. The next day Remy's condo was found torn apart. Now, one year later, the two show up at the mansion. What's happened to them? Where have they been? Prompt - shattered shields.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken

**Author's Note:**

> This was something that I'd written when i was still figuring out "Guardians". It was an entirely different 'bond' story that I wrote that was much, much more angst filled. In the end I figured it was too much like the Sentinel stories and their Sentinel/Guide bond. I'd been reading Susan Foster's GDP series at the time, as well as the Panther and Chief stories, so this was my play on making it work out for Remy/Spencer. I'm letting you all know so no one says I'm stealing ideas here. This was just for fun.

It was a beautiful fall day in New York. Most people were outside taking advantage of it in one way or another. People were out taking drives together, heading to the parks, and just enjoying the break in the rains of the past week. The residents of Xavier’s school were no different. They were out in abundance, playing games in the yard, hanging out on the back porch. Ororo was in her gardens, tending to her plants. So much of the household was in the backyard that there was no one out front to notice right away as a motorcycle made its way up to the front gates.

The bike was brought to a stop right in front of the gates, just shy of the camera view. For a second the two figures on the bike stayed perfectly still. One was watching the place ahead of them while the other was focused entirely on the person in front of him.

A long sigh ran down Remy LeBeau’s body. Spencer reacted almost immediately, rubbing his hand over where it rested on Remy’s stomach. In response, the Cajun reached down and patted Spencer's hands. “’M okay, cher. Jus’, never thought I’d see dis place again, dat’s all.”

Spencer hummed and gave Remy a soft squeeze of wordless understanding. He held on and gave Remy the moment he needed to collect himself. But some of what he was feeling must’ve slipped through because Remy gave his hands a squeeze and he sent him a wave of warmth and affection over their link. “Don’t y’ worry. Y’ jus’ remember what I said. I’ll take care of y’.”

After Spencer nodded and gave another squeeze, Remy got them moving again. He took them right up to the closed gate and stopped beside the keypad. A reach over and a few quick taps over the keypad there and, amazingly, the gates opened. Remy let out a chuckle at that. “Some t’ings never change.” He murmured. “Aint they changed a t’ing in security since Remy’s been gone?”

Their arrival at the gate would draw some attention from the security inside. Remy knew that. So, he wasn’t surprised when the front doors opened and two figures walked out before the bike had even fully made it to the top of the driveway. Remy recognized them instantly and Spencer placed them from Remy’s descriptions of the people here. Bishop and Jean Grey. Bishop stayed at the steps while the two came tearing up. Jean, however, kept moving, and Spencer could see the shock and hope on her face as they got close. She stopped a few feet away while Remy brought the bike to a stop. As they’d planned, Spencer stayed on the bike, twisting sideways to sit comfortably, while Remy rose. The Cajun pulled his helmet off and met Jean’s gasp with a grin. “ _Bonjour_ , Jeannie.”

“Oh my God. Remy?” Jean breathed out. “ _Remy_!”

Spencer watched as the woman quickly closed the last bit of distance and the two wrapped up in a tight hug. He could feel Remy’s happiness in this reunion. No matter that Remy had tried to swear they’d be okay going back to the team, he hadn’t been able to hide his doubt and fears from Spencer. The young genius knew that Remy was worried about whether or not the people here would actually help. Both of them couldn’t help but think of previous moments in Remy’s past where the team had been less than stellar in helping him. Still, all that aside, these people were the only real hope they had, and so they weren’t really left with much choice. Plus, they were Remy’s friends. Not all of them, true, but most of them. Some were even more family than friends. Remy deserved this reunion. Spencer knew he’d put up with pretty much anything if it put that kind of smile on Remy’s face or this happiness inside of him.

A swell of emotions warned Spencer that more people were coming. Judging by the emotions in the group—shock, hope, happiness, anger, disbelief, worry, joy—it was a pretty good bet that Jean had sent a telepathic message to everyone to let them know that Remy was right out front. Now would come the part that was going to be the hardest for them both. Spencer hunkered down and braced his mental shields as best as he could so the swell of emotions wouldn’t overwhelm his empathy. Everything in him wanted nothing more than to rush forward to his human shield. This was Remy’s moment, though. He needed this. He needed to reconnect with his friends and see how many of them had missed him. His heart needed it. Spencer reminded himself of that over and over, using that to push down his fear as best as he could. A quick, concerned glance from Remy showed him that it wasn’t quite working. Spencer gave him as reassuring a smile as he could muster. Then there was no more chance for them to do anything. The crowd broke through the front doors.

It was a good moment for Remy. A great one, really. He was bombarded by people who were exclaiming happily over him. Jubilee screamed out his name and launched at him, jumping right on him and wrapping her legs around his waist. Remy caught her easily enough and laughed as he hugged her. When he put her down, Ororo was there, clinging to him and laughing even as she was crying. Hank took a hug as well, and Scott shook his hand, as did Kurt. Bobby shook his hand too, grinning the whole time and laughing. Even Logan came forward to hug his friend. Everyone was talking and laughing all at the same time, it seemed. Spencer felt the warmth of their emotions and the happiness that was fair to bursting from Remy because of it.

There were people there that Spencer didn’t recognize. People that he knew Remy had never described to him. Either Remy had forgotten—unlikely—or they were new since the last time the Cajun had been here. That second option was the most likely.

Even in the middle of this reunion, there was a major part of Remy that continued to pay attention to Spencer. It was easy for Spencer to see. Remy had intentionally gone a few feet from his bike when all the greetings had started. It had left a nice gap between them and Spencer, which was just what he’d wanted. He also kept his body angled perfectly so that his back was to the young genius. With everyone right beside or in front of him, it basically kept him as a shield between them and Spencer. Not that it really mattered at first; none of them even seemed to take notice of the slender figure huddled down on the bike. Spencer had become a pro at being small and unnoticed. He was curled in on himself now, his arms wrapped around himself and fisted against his sides in his sweater. Being this far apart from Remy like this, with all the emotions in the air, it was almost a physical pain. The more people that showed, the worse it got.

Somewhere in the babble of questions—no one seemed to be giving pause to let Remy have a chance to actually _answer_ any of the questions—someone finally took notice of Spencer. Spencer saw Scott Summers turn towards him and, though it was hard to tell with those sunglasses, he was pretty sure the man was staring right at him. The next thing he knew, Scott was lifting a hand up in the air and calling out “All right, all right! Everyone, quiet down!”

The loud voice had Spencer flinching. His whole body tightened instinctively and curled in just a little more. But he watched as the group fell silent. Once they did, Scott spoke again, his voice back at its normal tone. “I know all of you have a lot of questions and I know you’re all wondering what happened. But right now, we need to figure out what’s going on. I want everyone to go ahead and head back to what they were doing. Gambit, why don’t we take this in to the Professor’s office? He’s in there waiting for us. Jean, Logan, he’d like you there too.” Scott turned his head and once more looked back towards Spencer. “Is your friend coming in, too?”

“ _Oui_.” Remy said simply.

For the first time, the rest of the group took notice of Spencer. They were all watching as Remy made his way back over to him. Though Spencer felt uncomfortable and self-conscious under their watchful stares, he couldn’t hide his relief as Remy reached him once more. Nor could he stop the sigh when Remy’s fingertips brushed over his cheek. Spencer leaned in to that touch, trying to keep the contact of skin on skin. He needed it right now, desperately. Remy recognized that and he drew Spencer up off the bike and brought him close in a brief hug. Then he turned just enough that Spencer could slip into their normal position. Spencer sighed again, the relief stronger this time. One hand went to the back of Remy’s right shoulder, curling into the fabric there, while his left hand went down to Remy’s left hip, fingers slipping underneath the edge of his shirt just enough to hook the top of his jeans and boxers, which allowed his knuckles to rest against skin.

Their position earned them quite a few strange looks. Spencer didn’t care. He used Remy’s extra few inches to his advantage and he ducked his head down, essentially hiding behind him. In this position he didn’t have to see anyone and all he would have to focus on was putting one foot in front of the other. They’d had enough practice at walking like this that it wasn’t difficult. This allowed Spencer to be close, to keep the physical contact that was often a necessity, and it also left Remy’s hands free to defend them against any potential trouble.

Remy lifted his chin a little and ignored the strange looks they got. He tipped his head towards Scott, obviously waiting. Scott arched a brow but he said nothing. With one hand he gestured for them to follow him inside. Remy did, and it didn’t escape anyone’s notice that he shifted a safe distance from anyone he passed, or that he made sure no one was close to the person behind him. There was no doubt that he was sheltering his friend as they walked.

Instinct and habit had Spencer taking in their surroundings as they went inside. He clung just a little tighter to Remy the further inside that they went. Over their link, Remy sent his love and reassurance. His silent way of telling Spencer to relax, that they would be okay, and that he would take care of him. The truth to that was the only thing that kept Spencer from truly panicking. He couldn’t help how tightly he held on, though.

Remy saw Logan cast a curious look his way and he could see the questions in his friend’s eyes. In response, he gave a shake of his head. No point in answering questions right now. All of it was going to come out here shortly. Better to just get the story out all at once.

The group made their way straight to the Professor’s office where Charles was already waiting for them. Scott and Jean led the way in, with Remy right behind them and Logan bringing up the rear. Remy made sure to keep an extra step ahead to make sure that there was no chance of accidental contact between Spencer and Logan. Right now, that would be disastrous. Logan seemed to catch on to what Remy was doing and he kept back for a second to let them fully into the room before he stepped in and shut the door. It gave Remy enough time to walk over to where Charles was waiting by the couch and chairs. The Cajun offered Charles a smile, saying “ _Bonjour,_ Professor. It’s good to see y’.”

“It’s so very good to see you as well, Remy.” Charles returned politely and honestly. His smile was warm and welcoming. “I am glad to see you alive and well. You’ve been dearly missed these past twelve months.”

“ _Merci_.”

Charles nodded. “Of course. Now, why don’t we all sit down and get comfortable? I’m sure you’ve quite a bit to tell us.”

“ _Oui, monsieur_. Been a hell of a year, yeah.” Remy said. He moved over towards the end of the couch closest to the door. It not only put him near the exit, it also was backed by the wall so that nothing could sneak up behind him, and it allowed him to keep everyone else in his view. Out of all the seats, it provided him with the easiest defensible position. Logan took one chair while Scott took the other, and Jean sat on the arm of Scott’s chair. Remy waited until they were all seated before drawing Spencer out to his side and starting to sit. Spencer moved to slide down towards the ground at Remy’s feet. He stopped when Remy’s hands caught him and tugged him onto the couch. “ _Non_ , cher. Y’ come sit up here by Remy.” The Cajun murmured to him. He stroked his hands soothingly over Spencer's arms while he got him settled into the corner of the couch. It put Spencer in a protected place between the armrest and Remy’s body.

Spencer drew in close to Remy, burrowing in against his side when Remy wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He kept his legs down, though he wanted nothing more than to draw them up and curl up completely against Remy’s side. He wanted to curl into his lap and bury his face against Remy’s neck and just hide from the world around them. That wasn’t possible right now, though. Later, when they were alone, he’d take what comfort he could. But right now he had to control himself. Remy knew his need and tried to ease it by cupping his head and drawing Spencer in close. One of Spencer's arms slid behind Remy and he pressed his palm flat against the Cajun’s back. His other hand dropped down to curl over Remy’s thigh.

The three onlookers watched all of this silently. Charles and Jean shared a look. They could both feel just how strong Remy’s shields had become. However, they could both also see one strong, shining empathic shield wrapped around both men, almost as if their shields were joined together somehow. Charles looked back at Remy as the two finally settled in. He took advantage of the two arranging themselves and he studied his onetime student and his companion.

There was a sharper, harder, slightly cynical edge to Remy’s smile that hadn’t been there before. It changed the whole expression on his face. He had the look of someone who had seen far, far too much in life. It wasn’t the only open change to him. So much about him looked different to them. Some little, some big. His hair was longer, hanging in a braid to the bottom of his shoulder blades. His face was a little thinner. That only served to highlight the high cheek bones and to actually add a little more beauty to an already handsome face. He sat with his usual sensual grace, yet there was a clear ‘keep back’ to him that hadn’t been there before. The old Remy always seemed to have something to him that dared a person to come closer, or begged them to. It was a part of his flirting that he rarely turned off. Now he carried an air that warned them that getting too close wasn’t a smart idea.

He looked just as lean as he had before and he moved as graceful as he always did. Yet now there was a sort of coiled lethality to him. Like he was braced for just about anything and was prepared to react instantly with deadly force. His movements reminded Charles of a large cat, sleek and graceful yet leaving no doubt just how powerful and deadly he was.

In total contrast was the young man plastered to him. This man looked rail thin; definitely malnourished. Brown hair was long enough to be tucked behind his ears, though he let it fall forward and screen his face. Charles caught a small glimpse of black eyes through the hair and he startled a little. He had seen no color in those eyes. All he’d seen was black. But the glimpse vanished as quickly as it came and he was left unsure of what he’d seen. He continued looking, checking over the rest of the young man. When the two had walked into the room, Charles had watched Remy shelter his companion almost completely from view. He estimated that Remy had about three or four inches on his partner, though the way that Spencer shrank into himself made it more like five or six inches. Spencer walked and moved in a way that kept his body in tight and kept him sheltered right behind Remy. It was a move that spoke of long practice. Now he was curled into him like Remy was the only thing around him that was keeping him safe, even in a room that was full of friendlies. His one hand was fluttering over Remy’s thigh, his fingers tapping out a nervous beat, and the way Remy didn’t react told Charles that it was a common enough gesture between them. Something he was used to. The two moved with one another like they were one person, not two. Like Spencer was an extension of Remy. The bond between them was obvious. Whatever these two had endured had tied them together in ways that weren’t visible and yet were almost tangible.

The pair was aware of his surveillance. Spencer shrank underneath the deep stare. It put a sick feeling in his stomach and had the nervous fluttering of his hand growing even stronger. In response, Remy stroked at his hair, soothing him with the gentle petting. He tipped his head towards Charles and smoothly said “Staring aint polite, Professor.” There was a hint of a warning to those purred words.

Charles immediately lifted his gaze to Remy’s sunglass covered eyes. “I’m very sorry, Remy. I was simply observing the two of you and trying to understand a few things.”

“Y’ got questions, ask dem. Dat’s what Remy’s here fo’, _oui_? Ask Remy what y’ wanna know.” His words made it very clear that it was Remy they were asking their questions to.

“Why don’t I reserve my questions?” Charles suggested. “First, I would like it if you can tell us your story for the past year. That would nicely answer all of our questions at once.”

“ _D’accord_.” Remy dipped his head in agreement. “Imagine y’ already know dat we was taken from Remy’s condo. Was a pretty nasty fight, dere.”

“I went lookin’ for ya the next day. Found the place all tore to hell. That’s how we knew you were gone.” Logan told him.

A shiver ran down Spencer as he thought about that night so long ago. He pressed a little closer to Remy and drew on the man’s warmth, both physical and mental, to keep calm as Remy started their story. “We got ambushed while we was sleepin’.” Remy told them. “It was de Marauders. Dey came in a through a tesseract right dere in m’ livin’ room. We tried to fight, _mais_ Creed got hold of Spencer and dey used him as leverage to get Remy.”

The fact that it was Sinister that took them wasn’t really a surprise to the others. Though they hadn’t been able to prove it, he’d been the one they all suspected. Who else would steal Remy and keep him hidden so completely? But hearing it confirmed had them all wincing. A day with Sinister was bad enough. But a year? They could only imagine the things the two had been through. All of them knew that what was coming next wasn’t going to be easy to hear. They’d known that from the start by just looking at the two. It was even more apparent now, especially as they watched the slender body at Remy’s side tremble a little.

It wasn’t just the coming story that had Spencer trembling. He remembered when they were taken and it made him ache as it always did. It reminded him that Remy wouldn’t have gone through any of this if it hadn’t been for Spencer. He’d been taken by Creed and used as leverage to get Remy to go with them and that knowledge left Spencer feeling sick inside. Remy knew that and he turned enough to press a gentle kiss against Spencer's hair. “Shh, _bébé_.” He murmured quietly, his voice so low only Spencer and Logan heard it. “It’s okay. Y’ shush now.” He kissed Spencer's hair again and then turned his attention back to the room. He continued his story as if he hadn’t paused at all. “Sinister kept us in a new lab of his. We didn’t even know where we was at first. Wasn’t till de fourth month dere dat Remy learned we was over in some lab he’d made in Italy. He wanted us far away from de X-Men so dere wouldn’t be no way y’all could get us back.”

“You were in _Italy_?” Jean exclaimed. She looked shocked. “We didn’t even think of looking outside the states. Any information we gathered suggested he was still in the US.”

“He did dat on purpose, cher. He heard y’all was lookin and he made sure to keep y’ off his trail. He was hopin’ to have de time to break Remy b’fore y’ found him. Dat’s why he took Spencer, too. He knew Remy wasn’t gonna work fo’ him and dat he couldn’t just break Remy no more. What could he do dat he aint already done to Remy, huh? _Mais_ , Spencer…” Remy’s expression and voice softened a little and he looked down at his companion again. “He knew Remy’d do anyt’ing to keep Spencer safe as possible. So long as he had Spencer, all he had to do was t’reaten to hurt him.”

“So he wanted you to work for him again?” Charles asked, drawing the conversation back on track and away from the obviously painful moment for the two.

Remy took a deep breath and nodded. “ _Oui et non_. He always has. Wants Remy to work fo’ him and he wants to use Remy fo’ experiments. He played round wi’ de bot’ of us.” Here Remy paused again. This time, they could see beyond the hard mask for a moment to the pain that was inside. Just for a moment, though. Then the mask slipped back into place and Remy looked hard once more. His grip had tightened on Spencer and he was holding him a little closer. “Y’ need to know somet’ing. Spencer, he kept it real secret, what wi’ de job he had b’fore, _mais_ he’s a mutant. An empath. Sometimes he’d see t’ings, too. Like visions? He says it’s like an emotional memory imprint left on somet’ing. He can see a memory left on somet’ing. Sometimes, he can touch somet’ing dat someone else touched and he’ll see dem, where dey is and what’s going on. Like a vision bout what’s happening right den.”

“Fascinating. Empathic based precognition.” Charles said.

“Yeah, well, Sinister knew dat about him and he used it. He did t’ings to Spencer, broke him down enough, and den…den, two months after he took us, he went in and destroyed Spencer's empathic barriers.” Remy spat the last words out. He saw the shock spread around the room, heard Jean’s soft gasp and Logan’s low growl, and he nodded. “He didn’t just yank dem down. He destroyed dem and somehow crippled Spencer at de same time. Spencer aint been able to properly rebuild dem since den. Dat’s what he needs Remy fo’. Remy’s empathy’s stronger now, after what Sinister done. When Spencer touches Remy, den Remy can make his shield bigger and shield Spencer's mind too.”

Jean made a soft sound of surprise. “You don’t put a different shield around him? You actually bring him into your own shields?”

“ _Oui_.” Remy said. “Can’t make shields round other people. Can bring him on in Remy’s, though, so long as we’re touching. Can’t do it if we aint touching. We got a link between us dat we built together and Remy just uses dat to pull Spencer in and shield him. While he’s in Remy’s shields, he can strengthen his own again and get dem back up as best as he can. His shields never fully recovered. Dey don’t hold up long. If he’s only around a few people, he can keep dem in place fo’ almost a day. De more people he goes around, de faster dey break down. Once dey break down completely, he can’t be touched by no one cept Remy.”

Charles nodded his understanding at that. “To an empath without barriers, a touch would be absolute agony. A direct blast of human emotion with nothing to filter it out.”

That was one way to describe it. Spencer shivered and swallowed down his nausea. Depending on the emotion the person felt, the pain could vary. Anger could feel like being beaten. Hatred was like acid poured inside of him. The memory of what those felt like had him feeling sick now. He tuned in to Remy to push those memories back as far as he could. His Cajun was sitting up straighter and his voice had taken on a harder edge, the warning in it obvious. “Remy’s telling y’all cause he needs y’r help to make sure dat no one touches Spencer. Not unless he instigates it. Cause Remy’ll stop anyone dat tries, no matter who dey are. Aint gonna let no one hurt Spencer.”

“We’ll make sure people know.” Scott promised him. “We’ll tell them his powers make it so others can’t touch him without him being prepared. Only you. We’re all used to being careful of others mutations.”

“Good.” Remy said firmly. He sat back a little more, relaxing just a bit again. Now that he’d made his point, he went back to his story. “Sinister thought dat havin’ Spencer would make Remy easier to control. De idiot didn’t t’ink it through all de way. Havin’ Spencer made Remy compliant, _oui_. Also made Remy work harder to get free. Took a lot of planning and a lot of work but we finally got enough control together and we got Spencer's strength up enough to manage it. We also figured out how to break de collar Sinister put on Spencer. Was rigged to electrocute him if we tried to take it off or if he tried to leave de compound without permission. Could also be triggered by remote. Took _months_ fo’ Remy to rig together a way to get it off him. We managed it finally, though. Got de collar off and we broke outta dere. _After_ leaving a few presents behind.” Remy paused and smirked a little. “Heard on de news dat de explosion was seen fo’ miles.”

The reactions for that were varied around the room. Jean made some soft sound, surprise evident. Charles stayed still and showed nothing. Scott flashed only a brief smile before it was wiped away with his controlled ‘leader’ look. Logan grinned broadly and leaned back in his chair, chomping on the end of an unlit cigar. “Good for you, Gumbo.” He declared.

Remy shrugged one shoulder at them and flashed a grin that was just slightly like his old one. “ _Merci_. Wasn’t leavin’ dat man a damn t’ing. We rigged de place and den we got de hell out. Took a while fo’ us to get here to y’all. Couldn’t just call y’ up and ask fo’ help. Dat would be exactly what he’d expect. We found a friend, though. She got us out of de country and on a private flight in here. Got in dis mornin’ and had another friend meet us at de airstrip wi’ Remy’s bike. Den we rode straight here. Been, oh, bout five days now since we left.”

“We’ll have to put new security measures in place immediately.” Charles said.

No matter how important this conversation was, Spencer found himself drifting a little as they started to talk about what measures they would implement to up the security here at the mansion. He tried to pay attention. He really, really tried. But his body was just too tired. His stamina was nowhere near what it used to be and he was running off of little food and little sleep. What he wanted more than anything was a bed in a safe place where he could curl up with Remy and just shut out the world for a few hours. He blinked his eyes a few times and forced them to stay open. This was important. He needed to be alert and listening.

There was a pause in the conversation. Remy took advantage of the moment to bend his head down towards Spencer's. “Go ahead and rest, cher. I’ll catch y’ up later.” He murmured in Spencer's ear. Then he lifted his head and commented on the last thing Charles had said. “Dose might be a good idea, Professor. If y’ want, Remy can look at de system later, see if dere’s anyt’ing dat needs changing round.”

Now that Spencer had the reassurance he needed, he had no qualms about shifting his position on the couch. Remy slid over just a little, granting Spencer a little more space, and the young genius ignored the curious eyes on him and he laid his body down with his head in Remy’s lap. He snuggled down and buried his face in against Remy’s stomach, sliding both arms around his waist so that he was hugging the man. Remy let him settle before he moved his legs, crossing them so that one ankle rested over the other knee, his foot in the air right by Spencer's back. It created a little nest, a shelter, for the man in his lap. Then he laid one hand on Spencer's upturned hip and the other hand alternated between stroking Spencer's hair and gesturing with his words.

It only took about five minutes before Remy felt Spencer shift down into deep sleep. His partner stayed that way through the whole security discussion. When that was done with and they’d mapped out all they could, Remy sighed back into the couch, his hand dropping down once more to stroke over Spencer's hair. The others watched the two of them for a few minutes.

“Your Spencer, he doesn’t say much.” Jean finally spoke, her voice soft and worried. She was watching Spencer with that maternal air she always got when someone was hurt.

She had no idea that her words would hurt. But Remy flinched from them. He licked his lips and looked down at the man he had sworn to protect and who he had failed already in so many ways. No matter what it took, he told himself that he wouldn’t fail Spencer again. He would do what was best for the man and make sure that he was well cared for and protected. That meant telling these people things that hurt to say. If he wanted their help keeping Spencer safe, if he wanted them to help heal his partner, then he would have to provide them the information they’d need to do it.

“Spencer, he, he likes to talk.” Remy started out slowly. “Dat was part of his job, y’know? Talking down de criminals. He was doing it at de labs, tryin’ to talk to Essex, to de Marauders. Discreetly, of course. _Mais_ , Sinister musta got tired of it. Bout two weeks after he broke Spencer's barriers, he tossed him in de room wi’ Remy, beat to hell, bruised and bloody, and Remy was tryin’ to get Spencer to talk, to tell him what happened and if he was okay, and Sinister told Remy dat Spencer wasn’t gonna talk no more. Said he…he burned a mental command in Spencer so dat he couldn’t speak a word. He can still make other noises. He can cry, hum, grunt, groan, whimper, s-scream.” Remy stuttered over that last word. He paused, drew in a breath, and finished in a steadier voice. “Basically, he can make any sound dat aint words. He aint spoken since den. We was hopin’ dat maybe, when he’s rested, y’ might be able to take a look, Professor. See if dere’s a way y’ might be able to help him, _oui_?”

“Of course, Remy.” Charles assured him. “I’ll do anything that I can to help your young man.”

Jean’s expression had become even more concerned through Remy’s story. She watched Spencer now with a look of compassion mixed with a small bit of pity. “He’s gone through so much, your friend. The both of you have.”

“Y’ve got no idea, Jeannie.” Remy said hoarsely. “Y’ aint got no idea. De pain he lived with, de experiments he had to go through. Y’ got no idea just how strong Spencer is.” Looking down, he stroked a hand over Spencer, a reminder to himself that they were here and they were safe. He watched Spencer sleep for a minute and he could feel the fragility of his partner’s shields. It had him looking up once more and asking “Y’ got a room we can go to? Spencer, he needs sleep and he needs our connection right now. His walls aint near strong enough to handle being apart. De travelin’ round all dese people and de stress he’s been under, he just aint got de strength. Plus, bein’ round everyone here. He aint really gonna be up fo’ much fo’ a while.”

“Your old room’s still there.” Logan told him. At Remy’s surprised look, he shrugged. “I always knew you’d come back one way or another, Gumbo. I wasn’t gonna let em take your stuff away. You two go on up there. Least there I’ll be nearby to help keep watch for ya.”

Remy smiled at him. An honest smile, not a practiced one. “ _Merci beaucoup, mon ami._ ”

The group got yet another surprise when Remy carefully laid Spencer's head on the couch so that he could rise, and then, once he was on his feet, he bent down and easily lifted Spencer into his arms just like he was carrying a child. One arm behind his back, one under his knees. Spencer reacted as if this were a familiar move. He stirred only slightly and a reassuring word from Remy had him turning and curling in towards him, arms going around Remy’s neck. Cradling his world in his arms, Remy headed out of the room, with Jean right behind him to grab some sheets and make up the bed. She had a feeling Remy wouldn’t want to put Spencer down unless he had to.


End file.
